Also on my list of things to see but never seen was The Wallace Collection. No, this was not a collection of Dr. Wallace's painted miniatures, it's the collection of art pieces, furniture, and armour collected by the Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, bastard son of the 4th Marquess. Housed in Hertford House, a stone's throw away from Oxford St. and yet so peaceful and quiet that you could possibly forget how close you are to the strip.
It has an exceptionally strong Rococo collection, of which the particular highlight is Fragonard's The Swing, but the collection is also home to Poussin's A Dance to the Music of Time and Franz Hals' Laughing Cavalier. It also has a large collection of what appeared to be snuff boxes featuring erotic scenes. Eventually, I started to get a bit tired of the blushing nudity and retreated to the very pink courtyard to have an English afternoon tea.
The VERY pink courtyard
And my tea service. Miam.
I will say though, I was very tempted by the French afternoon tea - it had salmon tartare and pate. Very tempted...guess I'll just have to go back to have it!
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